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Faith Embodied: a Comparative Analysis of the Body's Connection

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Faith Embodied: a Comparative Analysis of the Body's Connection CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by University of Birmingham Research Archive, E-theses Repository Faith Embodied: A Comparative Analysis of the Body’s Connection to Religion Through Ritual in the Hindu and Christian Context By: Jenna Ferrey 968730 University of Birmingham United Kingdom August, 2010 Copyright © Jenna Ferrey University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract Academic discourse on comparative religion is compelled to explore the body. The body is the site of personal and spiritual communication and experience. This paper seeks to examine the body in context of identity and religion. By challenging traditional assumptions of dualism and religious dismissal of embodied reality, scholars can engage with the lived experience of religion. Religious rituals, such as darsan the eucharist, puja, and pilgrimage point to the centrality of the body in religious experiences. A closer look at religious ritual and its relationship to faith and theology, as well as to the body, will provide a clearer understanding of the material element of this‐worldly expressions of faith. Using the concepts of the mindful body, and integral bodies, this paper will look at the way religious ritual interacts with elements of identity and social interaction. Through ritual the body emerges as a tool that is used as means of communion with the divine, and as such must be awarded value and meaning in a religious and academic sense. A re‐examining and re‐valuing of corporal religious experiences opens the door for a more genuine dialogue about religion and in an inter‐religious sense. This paper will explore several key rituals in the Hindu and Christian faith in order to provide a comparative analysis. Although this is not an exhaustive study, it provides a foundation from which body can be approached from a comparative religious studies perspective. By locating the discussion within the rituals of the traditions we can connect theories and ideas to genuine behaviours and social practices. Introduction .................................................................................................................. 1 The Significance of Embodiment for the Study of Religion ..................................................................... 1 Challenges or Limitations ...................................................................................................................................... 2 The Comparative Method ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Chapter Synopsis ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter One ‐ Body and Bodies: Evaluating Terminology and Methods of Understanding Corporality .......................................................................................... 10 A Theological Approach: What we Can Learn From Tradition and Scripture .............................. 10 The Mindful Body: Challenging Conventional Dichotomies ................................................................ 15 Integral Bodies: Bringing Religious Studies to the Body ....................................................................... 19 Methodological Considerations ....................................................................................................................... 24 The Feminist Approach ........................................................................................................................................... 24 Chapter Synopsis ................................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Two‐ Ritual and Belonging: Identifying the Connection Between Religion and The Self ....................................................................................................................... 29 Scripture and Ritual: Reading the Body in the Context of Scripture .... ............................................ 30 The Ritual Body: Evaluating the Body’s Role in Worship ..................................................................... 32 Constructing and Deconstructing Identity: The Body as Who We Are ............................................ 35 Communities and Communion: Engaging the Body and Faith ........................................................... 37 Eucharist: Evaluating Ritual Access .................................................................................................................. 40 Darsan: Connecting Ritual to Faith ................................................................................................................... 46 Chapter Synopsis ................................................................................................................................................... 49 Caste: Examining Embodied Hierarchies ........................................................................................................ 52 Universal Dirt: Unpacking Contextual Elements of Pollution ............................................................. 54 Bodies of Saints: Understanding the Presence of Holy Persons ............................................................ 57 Faith and Sexuality: Deconstructing the Sexualized Body ..................................................................... 59 Virginity, Motherhood and Women’s Bodies in the Religious Context .............................................. 61 Chapter Synopsis ................................................................................................................................................... 63 Chapter Four‐ Religious Objects, Bodily Presence and Sacred Spaces: Interpreting Religious Gaze ............................................................................................................. 65 Ritual Images: Viewing Physical Expression of Faith ............................................................................. 67 Puja: Investing Embodied Relgious Exchange .............................................................................................. 70 Sacred Spaces: Location as Function of Religiosity ................................................................................. 73 Pilgrimage: Finding Faith Through Physical Journey .............................................................................. 74 The Physical element of Religion, and the Potential and Problems for Interreligious Communication ...................................................................................................................................................... 76 Chapter Synopsis ................................................................................................................................................... 77 Conclusion: Moving Bodies into the Religious Discussion ............................................ 79 Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 84 Introduction The Significance of Embodiment for the Study of Religion The human body, in its various forms and stages, is a site of much discussion, amazement, and inquiry. Our bodies allow us to interact with the world and to connect to, and communicate with, each other. All human beings, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, share the experience of corporal reality. Although each experience of embodiment is unique and personal, the shared reality of physical existence provides a common platform for discussion and interaction. All human beings are born, and all will die having a unique cognitive capacity to not only be aware of this embodied reality, but to pose to it questions of meaning. The shared experience of embodied life and the reality of impending death, are often at the crux of religious worldviews and heated debate. Alexandra Howson (2004) states, “the body is absolutely crucial to the way we engage with the world and with the people around us” (p.12). I propose, the body is also intrinsic to the way people engage with religion, and the divine. Our religious experiences are necessarily mediated by our physical presence and our bodily senses and religious rituals serve as a means to provide individuals with sensory experiences of their faith and a physical means of interacting with their religious community. Religious actions that are performed in public or private allow believers to express their spirituality in an external and physical way. Public ritual performances and private expressions of worship are often also means of connecting the religious layperson with the spiritual authorities of his or her perspective tradition. Embodied ritual is a point of access for the average believer and is consequently and important avenue for religious study. By 1 examining the physical
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